When you have been diving somewhere for a while you start to become very familiar with all of the local reef residents.

Whether its butterfly fish, angel fish, sharks!!(oohhh eehh!!) or even some of the smaller visitors e.g. nudibranchs and blennys (love those big googly eyes ) you can even start to judge depths and specific areas of the reef by seeing what is floating around. On the pacific side of  Costa Rica if you float above 30ft you start to see a lot of panamic fanged blenny which gives me an idea immediately that I’m heading towards the shallows.
And contrary to his name he does not look vampire like even though that seems to be the trend for everything right now!?

As an eager fish finder I do have my head buried in the Fish ID book on a regular basis, more so until I ma familiar with an area. Because of this I find that even if you see something you have never seen before on the reef you are able to at least pick out a family , or have a “vague” idea where in the general fish ID chain it falls.

Now one of favourite fish, and call me strange if you will because of this, is the ToadFish. I have very strong reasoning behind this so hear me out. Firstly, they are in all truths pretty bloody hard to find. After spending a couple of years diving in the carribean and listening to them “singing” I managed to find them only on 2 occasions. Secondly, their singing, which is compared by some people to the sound of a motorbike revving. And thirdly, they always look soooo grumpy! Its like the scrooge of the reef fish I think?!

When I used to live in the Carribean, I started to be able to seek out their hang outs after a while and became pretty good at finding them , but in Costa Rica, it has taken me 4 years!!! But finally….success!! My first indication that they were around was about a month ago when I heard the all to familiar to me once sound of motorbikes under the water. I eagerly began looking under rocks and looking for san chutes but alas.

Then just last week with some divers who had just finished their open water I had to do a double take because sitting out load and proud in between some rocks was non-other than a toad fish. Smaller than their caribbean cousins, the toadfish here have protruding eyes on the top of his head and was unfortunately missing one of my favourite features, the beard. Luckily one of my divers had a camera so I was able to grab a couple of quick pictures for formal ID.

I enthusiasticly was waving my hand under my chin at them and pointing, but as you can imagine, the thrill of a toadfish find is not the most incredible thing to a new diver.  I think though from my over zealous description they got the idea of how important it was. That completely made my week, and now to find the batfish ; )

Popularity: 71% [?]

Welcome to the Scuba Diving in Canada and the PADI System Scuba Jedi. My name is Darrell O’Donnell. I’m an Assistant Instructor with PADI and I’ve been a certified diver for 10 glorious years.

I live up here in the Great White North of Canada and I know a lot of warm water divers must think, “How does someone who lives 820km (510 miles) from the nearest coast and whose lakes are frozen for 6 months of the year get out diving?” Well have any of you out there ever considered Ice Diving? It’s a blast and something that very few people will ever try. A warm dive for me is somewhere in the 45-50F surface temperature. I dive in a lot of lakes with visibility that most of you ocean junkies would never even consider good conditions. Most days, when the visibility is 25 feet, it was a great dive.

I would like to bring some different views of diving for the people who think that the only place to dive is in the oceans and/or tropical destinations. Not everyone can afford to take a tropical vacation every month or two so if we want to keep active in diving, we have to take advantage of the lakes and waterways close to home.

If you are into cold water diving, the West Coast of Canada, around Vancouver Island has some of the best diving in the world. Its home to the shy “Six-Gill” shark, giant Wolf Eels, and the Artificial Reef Society of British Colombia has started a wonderful artificial reef program. Since 1991 they have sunk seven old Canadian Navy vessels, (175 to 444 feet long), a Boeing 737 airplane, and they are currently waiting on a new destroyer, (HMCS Annapolis – 377ft) to get approval, and to be finished cleaning.

When you think of diving here in Alberta, no one in their right mind would think of wreck diving.

Well, has anyone ever heard of the Habakkuk?
In 1943, the British and Canadian governments coordinated to make a scale version of an Aircraft Carrier made of a substance called Pykrete. According to The Sea Hunters, (http://www.shipwreckcentral.com/index.php) it’s the only land locked Aircraft Carrier wreck in the world.
Here is a link for any of you that may want a bit more info on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk.

Stay tuned for further articles.

Darrell

Popularity: 3% [?]

Is not easy to be The Fuhre, specially when you want to go diving and you are just an open water diver.  So the big question is: Should dive operators alowed Hitler to dive without his Advanced Open water certification? Enjoy!

Popularity: 3% [?]

When using a drysuit divers will need to add air to their suit on descent to avoid the accompanying, potentially painful,  squeeze that is explained by Boyle’s law and the associated increase in pressure. Since drysuits themselves provide little or no thermal protection, insulating underwear is required to prevent hypothermia. This underwear needs a certain amount of loft to be effective. So, as well as adding air to avoid squeeze, divers must also add air on descent to maintain loft and remain warm.

All the air added should be there solely to equalize the compression that occurs with increased depth – the diver is equalizing the airspace inside the suit in order to remain comfortable and warm.

Additional adjustments may be required for buoyancy control and these should be made by adding air to or subtracting air from… the Buoyancy Control Device (whether that is a traditional BCD or a bladder/wing).

Drysuits should not be used for buoyancy control – they are suits that keep you dry whilst Buoyancy Control Devices, well, they are just that.

Popularity: 7% [?]

As technology and dive business has advanced, so has diving instruction. Just as there are many choices of Regulators, BCD’s, computers, and dive trip options, there are just as many choices of instructors. There are also a lot of Course Directors out there these days. As with Instructors in any field, there are some good and some that are not so good. However, just like there are certain things you want to know before choosing your doctor, there are certain items you should inquire of your Course Director.

Accreditation and Experience – Does your Course Director have the education and experience to train you proper. Just like in the Dive master course, a big part of the IDC is for the CD to share his/ her experience. If somebody does not have that, then it comes down to “teach you to pass the IE”. Also remember that if the CD has been around for a while and has trained a lot of Instructors in the area, you will get lot’s of valuable info outside of just the IDC. Such as local issues/ concerns and probably also advise on future work opportunities. Before signing up with “the cheapest deal” do a bit of research and find out what other people in the area has to say about your potential choice. Happy customers are usually a good indication that the CD cares about the candidates. If needed, ask for references of students from all skill levels that you can contact. Does he/ she offer programs on a regular basis or do they just have a few per year?

Compatibility – It is your responsibility to insure that there is a fit between you and your instructor on all levels, personality type, mutual goals, and your instructor’s ability to relate to your individual needs. Learning to dive is supposed to be fun, so learning to be an Instructor should also be fun then. Not a military training camp! If the CD is a “boring” speaker it can turn into pretty long days. Yes, you will spend a lot of time in the classroom, so having a person in front that can be entertaining as well as knowledgeable will be very important. Some have ego’s bigger than the dive store and that gets to be a bit boring after a few days.

Facility – Where will the program be conducted and does the CD know the facilities well? Are the classrooms air conditioned (in tropical climates)? How far from the classroom to the pool or confined water? How far to open water site? If things are slowed down by difficult logistics, such as long travel between class room to pool or open water site this will interfere with learning. Also your days will then be very long. Since you have to do preparations every night for the next days action, it makes sense to be able to get out of class at a reasonable time every afternoon. Relaxing and catching your breath before homework and dinner. Remember; never hold your breath! Check if all diving is done from the beach or if boat is an option if the beach “blows up”. It often saves time to go from the beach, but if conditions are bad, then that is an issue. If they would not teach an open water course at the site, then they should not teach an IDC there either. Can they help with fixing equipment as well as help with booking hotels, advice on restaurants etc. Having some surround support will help make the experience less stressful and way more fun too. Check what schedule the course will have. Is it a squeeze with cramped in study over the bear minimum of time or is it laid out perhaps with a “study/ relax” day in the middle. Is there any room between the IDC and IE for maybe some extra stuff or remedial training?

Follow-up Communication – Your CD should be willing to help out with answering questions after training has been completed. You are going to be a brand new Instructor, and sometimes may get a little stressed. Being able to call or email and get some good advice will make life less stressful.

Let’s face it; diving is not rocket science or brain surgery. By asking simple questions before taking instruction, you will insure that you will invest your time and money wisely, as well as maximize your learning curve.

——————
The following article was submitted by
Bent Posejpal – PADI Course Director
Siam Dive n’ Sail, Phuket, Thailand
Tel: +66(0)76-330 967; Fax: +66(0)76330 990
Cell: +66 (0) 81 892 0643
Email: bent@igotbent.com
Email: igotbent@gmail.com

http://igotbent.com

http://siamdivers.com

http://indodivers.com

Popularity: 9% [?]

Whales, Dodging Those Deadly Harpoons! The title for this month’s conservation article was inspired by a line from a Jimmy Buffett tune, Treat Her Like A Lady, about respecting the ocean.

Whales worldwide will head for the deep, like this diving Tonga humpback, as they attempt to evade Japanese, Icelandic, and Norwegian harpoons over the coming months.

Paul J. Mila Photo © Tonga, South Pacific

Whales, already endangered from years of ruthless hunting, are facing new threats to their very existence on our planet. Japan, Norway and Iceland currently lead efforts to subvert, and ultimately overturn, the International Whaling Commission’s commercial whaling ban.

All species, including humpback, fin, and minke, are slated for attack by Japan, Iceland, Norway, and several other whaling countries. Strangely, even blue whale meat, identified by DNA analysis, appears in Japanese meat markets, despite Japanese denials that their “scientific” whaling program targets severely threatened blue whales.

Attempting to overturn the IWC ban on commercial whaling, Japan has even resorted to bribing small island nations, through “economic development grants,” to gain their votes on the IWC. In the case of Tonga, the attempted bribery has a more overt purpose: to gain permission to slaughter humpbacks in the Tongan whale sanctuary, where humpbacks give birth and mate. To its credit, Tonga has resisted.

Japan resorts to political and diplomatic, as well as economic, pressure to influence more economically developed nations. Japan’s most recent success in this area has been cowing the Australian Government into inhibiting Sea Shepherd’s ability to fight Japanese whaling in Australia’s own backyard, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

When all else fails, Japan simply exploits a loophole in the IWC ban, permitting limited whaling for “scientific purposes.” However, this is nothing more than an obscene ruse to cover up Japan’s commercial whaling activities. Legitimate scientists know how to conduct non-lethal research on whales.
Noted commercial photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, on assignment with Greenpeace International in the Southern Ocean, risked his life in front of the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru’s deadly harpoons, taking the photos for his dramatic story, Death Of A Whale. It shows Japanese “scientists” aboard the Yushin Maru, preparing a Minke whale for their brand of “scientific research”.
Click on the title or link below, to read Jeremy’s gut-wrenching first-hand account of witnessing this bloody carnage, up close and personal:
Death of a Whale http://www.epuk.org/First-Person/15/death-of-a-whale

For additional information about Jeremy and his work, please visit his website:

http://www.jeremysuttonhibbert.com/

Many people, myself included, thought killing a whale was a quick proposition with an explosive harpoon. Jeremy shows through dramatic photos and moving words, this is not always the case.
As you read Jeremy’s account of whaling’s brutal reality, consider that the suffering creature on the end of the harpoon is an intelligent, sentient being, possessing a brain more complex than a human brain, which lives in social groups with family bonds. Setting aside arguments over the debatable validity of “sustainable whaling” (estimating a theoretical number of whales that can be killed annually without extincting the species), ask yourself whether it is morally and ethically permissible to kill such an advanced being.

WHAT WE CAN DO:
1. First, the obvious: don’t purchase whale products, or support organizations that traffic in whale products.

2. Contact your local Congressional Representative and let him/her know your feelings on this issue, and that you want the U.S. to vote in favor of extending the IWC commercial whaling ban.

3. Let the whaling nations know your thoughts about their actions. Google a country name (Japan, Norway, or Iceland), along with the word “Consulate” or “Embassy”. You’ll get a list of cities having consulates or embassies, with contact information. Select one near you and send a message.

4. Support anti-whaling conservationist organizations, such as Greenpeace, www.greenpeace.org
and Sea Shepherd, www.seashepherd.org

Sea Shepherd Conservation Organization, headed by Captain Paul Watson, is more confrontational than many conservationist organizations. Japan has proclaimed the Sea Shepherds are international outlaws, pirates, and terrorists, even as it slaughters endangered whales in the designated Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The Sea Shepherds interfere with Japan’s illegal whaling activities using various aggressive tactics, such as ramming Japanese harpoon vessels conducting whaling operations.

In Conclusion, some good news, and reason for hope:
A November 11, 2009 Online New York Times article by Jonathan Leake reports that blue whales might be coming back! These 100-foot giants of the sea numbered between 350,000 and 400,000 in 1900, but human whaling reduced their population to approximately 5,000 by 1960, with almost no recovery during the past 50 years. Recent blue whale sightings in areas where they had not been seen for many years have given scientists reason for optimism. However, the story indicates it is still premature to draw a final conclusion regarding the blue whales’ prospects. But one point is certain: for the species to recover, the commercial whaling ban must continue.
Click the title to read the full article: Blue Whale Comeback

Popularity: 26% [?]

It’s been said that every photo taken of you shortens your life with one day. I’m not sure that this is intierly true since people like Brittney Speers is still around. However, Anna Nicole Smith might be of a different opinion. I am sure though, that this is true for the coral reefs in tourist dense areas. Divers have become the new “Japanese”…

How many more bad pictures of bluespotted rays do we need?

The last few years the prices for under water housings for cameras has dropped like a dumped weight belt at the same time as digital cameras has become everyone’s toy. I’m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse. All of the sudden the majority of divers coming to dive the Red Sea carry a digital camera with an under water housing. Some small pocket cameras some big semi-pro cameras and most of them first time users that bought their photo equipment just before leaving for this holiday. Now, I don’t say that there is anything wrong with the desire to document a holiday, nor feeling the need to get a new approach to diving by picking up U/W photography. However, divers bringing photo equipment are likely to be the main reason we see so many broken corals when we dive.

It seems like the moment you put a camera in the hands of a diver is the

How many more bad pictures of parrotfish do we need?

moment he forgets the half metre extension of his feet, everything he ever learned regarding buoyancy control and the ability to listen to good advice. Dive centres rent out camera equipment to the left and to the right with no other advice than how to take care of the camera. Not a word about taking care of the reef. Divers of course have the same desire, and right, to document their holidays as the next bird watcher. Every one wants to show friends and family pictures from their trip to Egypt when they get back home. Especially if you have done something as exciting as scuba diving! On land this is hardly ever a problem. You take a photo of the pyramids or the sphinx, no harm done. Under water the situation is different.

You have delicate marine life that might have taken centuries to grow that can be destroyed in a jiffy by the smack of a fin or a thump of a knee. I have seen it so many times; the side of the reef getting both figuratively and literally scraped clean by divers with cameras that I’m actually surprised that we still have any soft corals left on reefs like Brother Islands or Elphinstone.

But it’s not only the reefs that are in danger. I’ve seen divers with cameras follow sharks out in the blue, way too deep or up to fast to get the “digital evidence” they need, risking to get swept away by the current, get bent or agitate the shark to a point on the brink of a leave-me-alone-nibble. Add some nitrogen narcosis to this equation and you have a potentially dangerous situation.

How many more bad pictures of masked butterfly fish do we need?

Some sea creatures get stressed easier than others, the carefree turtle for example, and the laidback dugong. They seem easily choreographed and willing to pose for the photographer but the reality is that they easily get stressed and might suffer mental and physical injuries if approached in the wrong way. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the diver is stupid or a bad diver, just that he is distracted or preoccupied with his camera.

When buying an under water camera equipment it’s easy to think “it’s a harmless camera that can hurt no one” and we have all heard the expression “leave nothing but bubbles, take nothing but pictures” as a way to describe environmental awareness. It might be time to change the second half of that expression. The truth is that a camera is not as harmless as one might think. It can make you, unwillingly, take unnecessary risks and make you damage the very marine life you love, what made you take up diving in the first place.

There are diving photographers and there are picture snapping divers. The photographers know how to compose a picture and how to get a good result. Also they are cautious and alert, not to add to the bad reputation under water photographers already have. The picture snapping divers have no idea how to create a good photo and they return home with hundreds of crap pictures of fish swimming away taken from above. In pursuit of these earthly useless pictures they often tear down the reefs like bulldozers.

A lot of divers are now also upgrading to their “second generation” of camera

How many more bad pictures of goatfish do we need?

equipment. This means that many people who finally got used to diving with a compact camera in a small housing have to start all over again. This time it’s a NIKON D70 in an IKELITE housing and two big strobes. All of the sudden they have to think about shutter speed and aperture. And… oups… the subject left already… The strobe-arms are sticking out scraping soft corals off the overhang. The water resistance increases and the air-consumption skyrockets… And… oups… no air for safety stop…

I’ve also noted that the enjoyment factor of the dive often fades as soon as the diver brings a camera. Often they get out of the water saying they weren’t pleased about the dive and that there was nothing to see. Simultaneously other divers go into raptures over how fantastic an experience it was. Most of the time, the reason is that you miss a lot of what’s going on around you, if you spend the entire dive looking through a view finder.

When I used to teach U/W Photo courses I always started with the sentence “Today we’ll learn how to avoid taking the crap ones” and I think this is one of the most vital piece advice dive guides and instructors can give to guests who come to dive with camera equipment. Don’t take the crap photos! If you concentrate on getting only the nice shots and plan your photo dives, you would probably spare the reefs immensely. And you would actually learn how to get nice shots rather than just keep the “not so bad ones” out of a few hundred bad. Instead of picking on the divers after the dive for the mistakes they did during the dive, try to come up with hints and tips before the dive. Here I would like to quote my friend Kimmo Hagman, one of the old-school-photographers who lives by the rule; “If you can’t get the photo hovering, don’t try to take it.”

At the end of the day I think the task lands in the lap of the dive guides and dive centres to advise and teach divers with cameras to remember to respect the marine life. To create rules and enforce them. Take our responsibility when renting out under water cameras and include environmental aspects in the pre dive camera briefing. And why not offer a course in underwater photography combined with peak performance buoyancy?

In the Red Sea we ask our guests not to use gloves to avoid damaging the corals but can we really ask them not to bring their brand spanking new camera equipment? Of course we can, and I think it’s our duty to do so if we see that the diver can’t dive sensibly. Or we might loose the beauty of the reefs and the very source and motivation of the dive industry.

Anders Samaka Jälmsjö
Diver – Philosopher – Nagging Old Man

Popularity: 6% [?]